The Last Midnight

Chapter Twenty-Six: "Not A Damsel"

Nathan opened his eyes, but his vision was blurry, and his joints felt stiff and painful. The court physician leaned over him, telling him in a calming voice. "Easy, Highness. Take it slow." Nathan winced; every breath was strained like a heavy weight sat upon his chest, but he tried to take slow deep breaths. Clearing his throat, he didn't recognize his own voice when he asked him. "Where are my parents? What happened?" Sitting on the edge of his bed, the court physician brought a cup to his mouth and told him to sip it as he informed him. "The king is busy at the moment. I told the queen to wait out in the hall so that I could examine you. You... you stopped breathing a few times and have gone into convulsions throughout the night, but I think the treatment is finally working." Nathan sipped the warm drink, his throat dry and rough like he'd been screaming for hours. The warm drink tasted of nutmeg with a hint of something else, but he couldn't think of it now. Making sure that he drank at least half of the glass, the court physician openly told him. "Someone slipped you a some does of Belladonna. You are lucky to be alive. I was almost too late... but fortunately for you, I keep my stock in antidotes plentiful for moments like this."

Reaching out to touch the old man's arm, he strained out a wispy thank you. The old man chuckled, sweetly telling him. "You're welcome, Highness. Get some rest. Your body needs it." Nathan shook his head, mumbling out weakly. "My mother..." The old man placed a soothing hand on his chest, gently cutting in. "I will let her know how you are doing. Focus on relaxing and getting better. You're not out of the woods yet. The treatment has only just started working... Let's take things slow until you continue to improve." The old man pressed fingers to his neck, mumbling to himself. "Pulse is still high, and your fever hasn't broken. You should try eating something... How does warm broth sound?" Nathan's stomach growled at just the thought of it and the old man chuckled out. "That's a good sign. Beef bone broth it is." Nathan shifted to his side, closing his blurry eyes as he listened to the heavy rain patter the glass of the royal infirmary. He couldn't recall the old man leaving, or anyone approaching, but he felt the soft hands of his mother on his arm as she tucked him in and stroked his hair. He was too tired to say anything, but he reached out to hold her hand. He could imagine how worried she was.

While miles away, Matthew paced the locked basement of a pantry in the Baronet's home. The mercenaries had thrown him in and locked him away in the dark cold place that felt more like a dungeon cell than a pantry. The giveaway was the wooden door that had a small window with a set of iron bars and heavy bolt with an iron lock. He wanted to be worried about himself, but his only thoughts were of Nathan. How he'd looked at him with such confusion. How he'd fallen and foamed at the mouth. Was he alright? It tortured him not to know. Unable to pace anymore, he dropped into a snug corner behind a barrel of apples and bags of flour. Hugging his bruised legs to cry over his knees. Everything was ruined and it was all his fault. When the Baronet returned, he overheard him cheerily telling someone. "Well, that could have gone better. But in the end, it had the intended result." Lifting his head slowly, Matt listened closely as the Baronet continued upstairs loudly. "I've never seen the king so rattled. The nobles looked positively pale when he had them searched. Not even his own servants were safe. There were a few moments that I wondered if he would turn into a raging dragon."

Matt could hear a mumbled voice speaking, but they were talking too low to be heard clearly. The Baronet suddenly huffed out a bit bitterly. "Yes. Seems Baron Tremaine tried to cover his own ass and didn't bother to include me in this. The king is now searching for this... Linda Patrick impostor that managed to slip away. He believes he poisoned the prince with an accomplice. He has everyone interrogating his servants now. Now, I have to hide him away..." Matt scowled, listening as the Baronet added swiftly. "I assure you and your father. I know nothing about this attack on the prince's life. It was a complete shock to me as well... and very ill-timed on Matthew's part. I sure hope he recovers and still plans to marry you. Although... that might be difficult since your own 'servant' tried to kill him." Matthew clenched his jaw as he realized who he was talking too. There was muffled talk, before the Baronet stated loudly. "Yes, I know. Tell your father that I have everything under control. Just tell him to rein in your sister... or I will. Personally, I thought her 'fainting' was a nice touch on his part." There was a brief pause after a door closed upstairs, before the Baronet snapped out to someone else in frustration. "Simpletons! How did he escape?!"